Tantra: Cult of the Feminine

by André Van Lysebeth

Book Overview

Known only for the virtues of its sexual practice, ancient Tantric ideology is a universal and widereaching ideology virtually ignored in the West. In Tantra: The Cult of the Feminine, one of Europe's foremost Tantric authors and teachers, Andre Van Lysebeth, gives readers a balanced, wellinformed, modern examination of the secret teachings and symbolism of Tantra. Espousing no dogma, Tantra involves a search for reality that contradicts neither science...

• Format: Paperback
• Language: English
• ISBN: 0877288453
• ISBN13: 9780877288459
• Release Date: October 2002
• Publisher: Weiser Books
• Length: 408 Pages
• Weight: 1.28 lbs.
• Dimensions: 1.0" x 5.9" x 9.0"

Customer Reviews

A must for today's society

This book has completely changed my view on sexual life. I recommended to anyone looking for answers about where we really comes from, how our view of sexuality is highly detrimental to our own health and happiness and how to reach new levels of consciousness and joy in their everyday life.

A quasi-scientific (and very interesting) argument for panpsychism .

This is the best introduction to the tantric worldview I have encountered. The other reviewer's comment about "lifting the veil" is extremely appropriate - there is NO estotericism here at all. Lysbeth cuts through all of the linguistic and cultural/contextual barriers that tend to pose such difficulty for Western students of Tantra. No mumbo jumbo. There are, however, several things for the propsective reader to be aware of. First, this is a book about "tantra per se" and not about any particular tradition therein. This is a guidebook to tantra as subjective experience and not an objective anthropological account of tantra as a cultural practice of the East. As such, the author has a wonderfully non-scholarly habit of distilling the essence of the teachings and blithely ignoring the specific historical details when they might be confusing or boring. I found this very refreshing, since authors with more "scholarly" approaches (e.g. Feuerstein) seem to lose the forest for the trees. This is something I want to learn - not just learn ABOUT - and for this purpose Lysbeth is absolutely peerless. Moreover, a lot of the material here will be not immediately recognized as relevant to tantra at all. The author is well-versed in science and the history of philosophy, and about a third of the material here is a scientific apology for the tantric worldview. If you -like me- are the sort of person who feels its necessary to square your mysticism with contemporary psychology or thermodynamics, then this is likely to be very satisfying reading. But not everyone agrees that mysticism should have to explain itself in scientific terms, and this sort of rationalism is likely to turn some readers off. Finally, this book has a very New-Agey feel to it. The author gushes about Goddess and matriarchy in ways that some may find off-putting. The first 10 pages read like "the Chalice and the Blade" and I (being a sort of anachronistically sexist male) was a little bit self-conscious reading it. Push a bit farther into the book, however, and the reader will discover that there is absolutely no man-hating undercurrent here. When all was said and done, I even found myself a bit persuaded by the author's sweet romanticism for "matri-focal" societies. Nor is any interest in marathon sexual acrobatics necessary to enjoy this book. It has a surprisingly satisfying "big think" feel to it. The book is, on one level, just an argument for what western philosophers have called "pan-psychism" - the notion that everything in the cosmos is imbued with some level of consciousness. If the reader is open to the experience, he or she will walk away from this with a of interesting insights into metaphysics, epistemology and the philosophy of mind. It is especially recommended for anyone who has enjoyed Ken Wilber (Sex, Ecology, Spirituality), Robert Wright (Nonzero) or Howard Bloom (Global Brain). Incidentally, this book also happens to kick the bejesus out of

Beyond Excellence: Liberation in your Bed...

No wonder MUKTANANDA's "Play of Consciousness" is in the bibliography! Van Lysebeth reveals to Westerners practising Yoga how to see the manifestation of divine and human love (the sexual ritual) in the most sacred, uplifting and transforming way! Reading this book will represent a HUGE PARADIGM SHIFT for you! Truly, this book is as much about spiritual transformation as much as sexual transformation. IT IS FULLY A SPIRITUAL BOOK (while being very concrete!). Van Lysebeth is one of the most renowned and respected Yoga and Pranayama teachers in the world, he here reveals secrets (practical secrets!) that have NEVER been revealed to such a wide audience. It took him 20 years of a long quest around all of India to find the Masters who would teach him the esoteric practice of sexual ritual as a means to liberation!!! You will see that doing "pranam" to your shakti or your shiva before and after love will become the most natural thing to you... Actually love will become one long (VERY LONG...) "pranam". You will learn the HISTORY, the basic PHILOSOPHY and very PRACTICAL details on how to become a Love Godess or Love God. Love will last for hours, it will rejuvenate you instead of tiring you, it will become MEDITATION (in action!). Read it, read it, read it!!! Viewing "sex" as the most sacred ritual in your life will make your life VERY different, no doubt about it. Especially: this book will transform the way you see "the world" and it will bring it into your "spiritual life". Women and Men will find this book very handy, not only because it goes into the specifics of the philosophy, but also because it will tell you how to practice beforehand to become a Godess/God Lover, it will describe positions of "maithuna" the sexual ritual... You will understand that "maithuna" is so sacred (like a PUJA of worhsip!!!) that you will not be suprised to learn that traditionally your Guru is present during the ritual!!! Liberation in bed!!!! Nothing else you will need, friend!

Engrossing and Thorough!

I've perused an number of books trying to figure out just what Tantra is about. They are mostly obscure, or lacking answers to the questions which inevitably come to mind. This author, however, leaves no stone unturned, providing not only interesting background, culture, and history, but the very practical "how to" go about it. His directions are clear, easy to follow, and effective. My favorite part of the book, however, was the two pages at the end of the book where he talked about the relationship between Guru and Chela, based on Tantra. This is a relationship vision for which I had long been searching. Another book which I found exceedingly valuable is "Passionate Enlightenment".

If you could only read one book on Tantra, this is it!

I have spent some time researching Tantra, I was very happy to read Van Lysebeth's Tantra, the cult of the femine. I found this book to be well written and researched. It is full of useful information, which I still refer to.